Stop+the+Hate



The Article  Summary: The Federal Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act is a bill that is meant to expand that federal hate crime laws, last updated in 1969, to include sexual orientation, gender expression and identity. The overall goal is to help prevent these crimes, and punish those who commit them. The bill was first proposed on April 12, 2007 as the Matthew Shepard Act along with the amendment to the Department of Defense Authorization bill, which was meant to increase military personnel pay. This bill was encouraged due to the rise of over 1,400 crime offences based on sexual-orientation in 2007. The bill was strongly encouraged with a poll showing 68 percent favoring it. However, President Bush did not like the Matthew Shepard Act and threatened to veto the defense bill if it was included. Thankfully president Obama encouraged the ball and it was reintroduced in 2009, and it passed on April 29, 2009 with a vote of 249 to 175.  Response :

I think it is fantastic that this law has been passed. I feel everyone has a right to express themselves freely, and should not have to hide who they are. I only with that it would have been passed sooner. I find it repulsive that Bush threatened to veto a bill that he believed in simply because of the Mattew Shepard act was involved. i am aslo happy that people are becoming more excepting of people's life styles to supprt this bill.